A.M. Links: Romney and Ryan Give Thoughts on the Middle East, Taiwanese and Japanese Ships Fire Water Cannons at Each Other, Replacement Refs Continue to Frustrate Fans, Israeli Diplomats Walk Out of Ahmadinejad Speech, Nuke Smugglers Caught in Moldova

• Romney has taken Obama to task after the President described current unrest in the Middle East as "Bumps in the road." His running mate, Paul Ryan, has given his own assessment of the situation, saying that the Middle East now looks like Iran circa 1979. Quite how the GOP position on Iran will helps things remains unclear.

• Israeli diplomats walked out of a high-level meeting at the UN after Ahmadinejad called Israel a "fake regime." His is the real one, don't forget. 

• The FBI is joining an investigation into the shooting of an unarmed double amputee by a Houston police officer. 

• Weapon smugglers have been arrested in Moldova for trafficking uranium-235, assault rifles, hand grenades, and RPGs. 

• Taiwanese and Japanese ships engaged in a water-gun fight over disputed islands. The Taiwanese ships withdrew after the confrontation. 

• Doesn't look like it's a great time to be moonlighting as a replacement football referee. Anger at the NFL's replacement officials only increased last night after more controversial decisions.

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Comments

[sarcasmic]

Florida cop kills family dog in front of kids. Nothing else happens.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-door.html

[sarcasmic]

Seattle cops kill 77yr old man with dementia.

When officers arrived at his door, he met them with a gun in his hand, said police.
The man refused commands to drop the weapon, police said, and was killed when two officers fired.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....olice.html

[Auric Demonocles]

Seattle cops kill 77yr old man with dementia.

By dementia do they mean he was a Packers fan?

[sarcasmic]

Students revolt over First Wookie's 850 calorie school meals.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....video.html

[sloopyinca]

OK, I can't stay quiet about this anymore. You guys have got to stop with this "First Wookie" stuff. People look at us like we're jerks and fools for calling Michele Obama a Wookie. We're better than this incorrect and inappropriate name-calling people. It makes the brand (libertarianism) look petty and racist. Besides, she's a fucking Klingon.

[Citizen Nothing]

TIWNTLS!

[Kaptious Kristen]

Yeah, I don't like the whole Wookie thing either. But she's clearly a Ferengi, not a Klingon.

[wareagle]

she can't be a Ferengi; they were all about making money. Maybe the Enterprise needs an extension on its mission to find out her true origins. They may be more closely tied to Star Wars than Star Trek.

[R C Dean]

she can't be a Ferengi; they were all about making money.

And what makes you think she isn't?

[Kaptious Kristen]

Exactly. And doing it in the most shady ways possible.

[Restoras]

No. Kardassian, straight up.

[wingnutx]

She is quite clearly a salt-sucker from The Original Series.

The resemblance is astonishing

[Whiterun Guard]

I'd just be happy if people spelled wookiee correctly.

[generic Brand]

+1 huuurrraarrawwwrr

[invisible furry hand]

well said sloops. But I see her more as Terminator 4, relentlessly hunting my ass down and feeding me broccoli to save the future

[Randian]

I wouldn't be surprised if she started forcing gagh onto school menus.

[tarran]

She's not a klingon. Klingon mating is quite violent, and Barrack Obama is a wimp who wouldn't survive such dangerous sex.

[H. Reardon]

She's a Gruffalo

[tarran]

The grufallo is an awesome book, and the first book my daughter read all by herself out loud to me cover to cover.

As such it holds a special place in my heart.

[Fluffy]

I always saw her more as a Cloverfield monster.

Not really meaning any harm, but being too damn large and blundering into buildings and school lunch kitchens and such.

[sloopyinca]

Sort of like a bigger-than-life Lindsay Lohan?

[Fluffy]

Yeah. If you take a high res photo of her head and zoom in real close, you'll see that she's actually a Voltron type robot and Amanda Bynes is driving her.

[$park?]

HAHAHA! Holy fuck, that's funny. Thanks Fluffy.

[Spoonman.]

I don't think she's unattractive. I am not sure why the rest of you do.

[Randian]

what is this I don't even

[Auric Demonocles]

Has being married ruined you this quickly?

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

She is deeply stupid and Stalinist. To overcome this inner ugliness, she needs to look like Kate Upton. She does not look like Kate Upton.

[Killazontherun]

Lohan in spite all of her faults, she just needs her own John Derek to keep her in line, is quite the attractive specimen. Or, did you mean Bynes, which I have to agree the crack smoking is causing some nasty wear and tear there.

[R C Dean]

She's petty, resentful, and mean. No matter what your looks, that makes you unattractive.

[Killazontherun]

She has never had a strong man in her life to smack her up when she gets nasty. That's all she needs, and then she would be purring like a sexy looking kitten for the press and public.

[invisible furry hand]

why are there so few female libertarians around here? Oh, right...

[Killazontherun]

First of all, hardly any libertarian actually agrees with me on this so don't get any ideas about it being representative.

Second, do you seriously think that women respect the milquetoast modern man?

Why do you think so many white women are turning to us Latins and Blacks these days? It's because white dudes are taught to go against their every instinct and now have no idea what women need to satisfy their true emotional needs. Hint, more back of the hand and less jabbering about feelings.

[invisible furry hand]

I grew up with a father who beat my mother. He was a worthless bullying piece of shit. She was not purring like a sexy looking kitten. We were not in awe of his masculinity. My brothers do not use their fists and their wives respect them for it. As a white woman I respect people who don't use their fists non-consensually.

If some woman enjoys getting hit by you, then that's between the two of you. If you do it without knowing (not inferring, guessing, assuming, but KNOWING) that this is actively wanted by her, then fuck you.

[Killazontherun]

Did your mother go around behaving like Lohan in public? Treating waiting staff like crap, demanding a table already seated? And yelling at the people to get the fuck out of her seat? I suspect not. So, no, smacking your mom was an act of bullying instead of doing society a favor. Lohan needs a man who can handle her high strung ways.

[Killazontherun]

And, Jesus Christ, lighten the fuck up. Do you really want to live in a world where it is verboten to joke about smacking Lohan?

[invisible furry hand]

Pity we're not talking in person. You could just hit me and make it all OK

[Killazontherun]

No, I would just laugh in your face for your silly melodrama.

[invisible furry hand]

At least I'd be making you laugh, which is more than your jokes do for me, based on this exchange.

[Killazontherun]

Wow. Bet a tumor would make for a better date than you.

[Killazontherun]

And, sure, blame the kids when your gods fail.

[Raston Bot]

850 calorie limit? i know it's a played out term but for someone in centralized power to limit caloric intake is Full Metal Retard.

[sarcasmic]

Don't worry. It won't be too long before your caloric intake is dictated to you by the central planners.
There's an obesity epidemic to cure.
Why do you want people to be obese?

[db]

"Let's Move!" + 850kcal = concentration camp physique.

[Pip]

Speaking of Jews, I saw a very good film on TCM last night called The Chosen. I learned that the Orthodox Jews opposed a secular state of Israel, because "There must not be an Israel without the messiah!".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082175/

[Stormy Dragon]

Haven't seen the movie, but we read the novel it was adapted from in school. It should be noted that the Saunders are not just Orthodox, but Hasidim, so while their portrayal is accurate for that specific sect, it doesn't reflect all orthodox groups.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Speaking of Jews, I saw a very good film on TCM last night called The Chosen. I learned that the Orthodox Jews opposed a secular state of Israel, because "There must not be an Israel without the messiah!".

Paul Johnson actually did a decent overview of this in Modern Times--he talked about how many of the Jewish leaders and communities in the area were actually extremely wary about the Zionists. They viewed people like Herzl as secular, idealistic Europeans with little understanding of the social and cultural makeup of the region, and were concerned that the establishment of a proprietary Jewish state would lead to a great deal of political and social upheaval in an area that had been relatively peaceful for quite some time.

[Stormy Dragon]

We used to complain about our school lunches when I was little too. I don't remember it being international news.

[sarcasmic]

Did you make a youtube video?

Yeah. Thought so.

[Stormy Dragon]

My point is that it's sad that the GOP is reduced to treating a bunch of whiny kids like they should be taken seriously if it gives them a chance to complain about Obama.

[Randian]

Buzzfeed is the GOP's media arm now?

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

I'm normally in favor of NOT taking whining kids seriously (I've bitched about it on this site) but having the 1st Lady tell the kids in the Spitbucket, Arkansas Independent School District how many calories they can consume is completely fucked up. This goes well beyond the mystery meat we used to complain about.

I'm hoping for riots and collateral damage.

[Stormy Dragon]

How is this any different then the way things have always been? Schools have always told kids buying school lunches how many calories they consumed. When I bought the lunch, I got whatever they gave me, and if I was still hungry afterwards, well then tough noogies for me.

[generic Brand]

I bought what they gave me, and then if it wasn't enough (like Turkey Thursdays), I bought a second helping. Something tells me that is no longer allowed.

[sarcasmic]

Something tells me that is no longer allowed.

Dude, there's an obesity epidemic going on here. The only way to stop it is federal control over everyone's eating habits.

Why do you hate the children?

[sarcasmic]

I'm sure that when you were a kid the school menus were decided probably at the individual school level, or perhaps by the district.

That's not the same thing as every single public school in the country having to follow menu guidelines from Washington DC.

[Stormy Dragon]

There's been national menu guildlines for school lunches since the National School Lunch Act was passed in 1946. Remember the big kerfuffle during the Reagan administration over whether ketchup counts as a vegetable?

[sarcasmic]

Remember the big kerfuffle during the Reagan administration over whether ketchup counts as a vegetable?

Vaguely. I ate school lunches once in my life. Just once. I was a brown bagger.

Do they allow that anymore?

[Rich]

I *think* so.

But you'll have to BYOM.

[sarcasmic]

Daily Mail is part of the GOP?

Thanks for the update.

[Killazontherun]

It's sad that you would think that school lunches are a president's spouses Goddamned business.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

I remember that plenty of people thought Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign was the height of stupidity. I don't see why Michelle Antoinette should be exempt from such ridicule.

[sarcasmic]

You are obviously racist.

[sarcasmic]

Port Authority opens underwater hatch, sinks $500K boat. Duh-oh!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....water.html

[sloopyinca]

FTA: In case of a maritime assault on JFK airport or in the event of aircraft crashes in the water, the boat would be on hand to deliver first responders to the scene.

$500k for a boat to ferry people to an accident scene? Jesus Christ, they could have a fleet of 25 (at least) 14' jet boats that fit 4 people and all the supplies they'd need for that kind of money. Of course, the y could have also picked one up at a military surplus sale for around $10k and repainted it.

Fucking wasteful.

[Atanarjuat]

Apparently it wasn't the boat, it was the equipment on board, including firefighting gear and somehow, enough liferafts for 600 people.

[sarcasmic]

Yes, sage.

[Restoras]

I prefer the tenor of your prior linking prefences...except for horseface (of course!).

[Ted S.]

I prefer the current links instead of the "I masturbate to these people in the Daily Mail!" links.

Although, to be honest, I'd prefer if the links weren't to the Mail, since I find a lot of the European tabloids' websites to be horrible memory hogs.

[sarcasmic]

I personally do not masturbate to my links, but if you want to that's your business.

Just don't blame me for your sticky keyboard.

[mr simple]

Slow news day for models?

[sarcasmic]

Yup.

[sloopyinca]

Bullshit. As a matter of fact, you missed a model story involving the KOCHtopus!

[sarcasmic]

If my links do not measure up to your high standards, feel free to post your own.

That goes for Ted S. as well.

thpppt!

[sloopyinca]

I do, but mine are usually more depressing than yours.

[sarcasmic]

What's more depressing than a cop killing the family dog right in front of the kids?

[sloopyinca]

What's more depressing than a cop killing the family dog right in front of the kids?

The state of our nation.

[sloopyinca]

What's more depressing than a cop killing the family dog right in front of the kids?

The state of our nation.

[sloopyinca]

What's more depressing than a cop killing the family dog right in front of the kids?

The state of our nation.

[sloopyinca]

What's more depressing than a cop killing the family dog right in front of the kids?

The state of our nation.

[Restoras]

Skwerlz hate you today, sloop.

[sarcasmic]

Is the fact that government agents seem to routinely kill family pets in front of children a reflection of the state of our nation?

[sage]

Thanks!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Israeli diplomats walked out of a high-level meeting at the UN after Ahmadinejad called Israel a "fake regime."

Real regimes don't have any gays under their rule.

[Jordan]

If 51% of a country's people demand the extermination of gays, it's A-okay. Just ask Tony.

[Restoras]

That's right. If the government says it's ok, then it's ok.

[Fluffy]

But...but...how else could you possibly decide?

[Randian]

Rush 2112!

[Fist of Etiquette]

No, his mind is not for rent to any god or government.

[Restoras]

The trees were all kept equal by hatchet, ax, and saw.

[Whiterun Guard]

Fight the good fight every moment?

[T]

Gotta have it to rent it, Fist, or else it's frauud.

[Randian]

Folks, the proper lyric was "if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice"

Son, I am disappoint.

[robc]

That lyric isnt from 2112.

WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL, on the other hand....

[gaijin]

I will choose....FREEWILL!

[db]

Thank your stars you're not that way
Turn your back and walk away
Don't even pause and ask them why
Turn around and say goodbye

[ant1sthenes]

Look, once you start paying for other people's healthcare, their sexual habits are everyone's problem. There's really no other option but to regulate sexual behavior.

[nicole]

Anyone watch him last night on Piers Morgan (could the combo of interviewer and interviewee be worse?)? It was pretty awkward. I'm still not sure what Ahmadinejad's goal was in going on, though he did tell me at the beginning that he loves the American people and wants us to love him back.

[invisible furry hand]

You watched that? Honey, you gotta be kinder to yourself!

[Whiterun Guard]

You could be kinder to her for her. I'll officiate.

[invisible furry hand]

She's in the US, I'm in Australia, and you're in Liberia. The logistics would be hard, although not insurmountable, given the magic of the interwebz

[RBS]

I see an excellent Google+ hangout in the future.

[Whiterun Guard]

Two girls, 3 continents?

[nicole]

It was like a car wreck. I did turn it off before they started talking about the Holocaust.

[sloopyinca]

What Holocaust?

/MSNBC viewer
/Iranian official (in unison)

[invisible furry hand]

Jewellery made out of amputated bits of Barbie. Your wives will love them

http://thatslikewhoa.com/funky.....bie-parts/

[Rich]

Awesome!

But I think I'll wait for the Chinese knock-offs.

[Whiterun Guard]

I can't decide which doll brand would make the creepiest jewelry.

Dora is in the lead for me right now.

[T]

I think a necklace of severed Bratz heads would have a good creepy vibe because of the oddly shaped heads.

[Pip]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd pay ten grand to assfuck Dora the Explorer. Ten Grand.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

This may be the most bizarre and disturbing comment I have ever read on the internet.

Congratulations?!?

[invisible furry hand]

She's meant to be 8 years old. Eight-year-olds, Dude.

[Brett L]

I'm so totally opening my Disney-princess themed whorehouse.

*All employees will be adults.

[Proprietist]

Those are really cool, although I was hoping for a simple headhunter necklace made of decapitated, scalped Barbie heads. I wonder what kind of looks you'd get walking around with that on...

[Jordan]

A water cannon fight? Seriously? Also, judging by the photos accompanying that story, all Asian patrol boats look alike. RAAACIST!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Taiwanese and Japanese ships engaged in a water-gun fight over disputed islands. The Taiwanese ships withdrew after the confrontation.

Wet seamen everywhere.

[Tim]

You. Klingon. Bastard.

[Whiterun Guard]

At least he didn't say hot wet yellow seamen.

[Teenage Girl]

Eewww!!

[db]

Considering the number of blown calls that the regular refs usually have, I don't see much of a big deal with the replacements. It's only a big deal now because the media feel they're free to talk about it. Very often witg the union reps, you can almost hear the announcers biting their tongues, and fans have a "well, what are you gonna do?" attitude about it. The fact that the refs are replacements changes the dynamic of who talks about bad calls, not who makes them.

[mr simple]

Well, these refs are anti-union scabs who don't deserve the patience afforded by the gracious media.

[wareagle]

but last night reached new depths in bad calls, at least three of them - all in Seattle's favor - in the last few minutes.

Where I lost patience with the media whining, though, was when ESPN had the Seahawks' qb on set afterward and treated the end as though he had led the team on a Peyton-esque drive. There is nothing wrong with telling the qb "you guys were given on tonight."

[generic Brand]

I am going to have to disagree here. There were a lot of beneficial calls in the first half that kept Green Bay in it despite Aaron Rodgers getting sacked 8 times. There was also the touchdown drive that the Packers had where they had the benefit of a few calls.

The replacement refs are not great, but let's not kid ourselves that the usual refs are God's anointed and incapable of making mistakes. How many people remember the Calvin Johnson ruling (rightly called in my mind) or the Brady Tuck Rule. There was an offensive push off on the last play, but to me it's all fair game on a Hail Mary play at the end, like a game of "500". Both players came down with possession of the ball; maybe the Green Bay player held it closer to his body, but he did not have sole possession, and a tie goes to the offense.

[wareagle]

except there was no tie. The Packer clearly had the bulk of possession, as the 27-year veteran ref in the broadcast booth noted and as anyone watching could plainly see. I can live with bad calls; yes, regular refs do them. But, the roughing the passer, pass interference, and last play calls were beyond the usual scope of bad.

[generic Brand]

On the roughing the passer (assuming you mean the one that ended in an interception), the guy went low on Russell Wilson well after the ball was out. Aaron Rodgers benefitted from the same call earlier in the game.

On the TD at the end, they never showed a view from the backside of the endzone. Like I said (and you even said), the Packers player appeared to have the majority of possession, but if he doesn't have "sole possession" it is not his ball, and in a dual possession it goes to the offense. He should've yanked it out of Golden Tate's hands easily if he "clearly had possession", but Tate still had a strong grasp on it.

[wareagle]

but it was not dual possession. ESPN even read out the rule that spells out what happens when one guy has it against his body and an opponent reaches in. It was an INT. And yes on the roughing play, though I thought the guy was making a tackle; he wrapped Wilson up and everything. It's like these refs never heard of a no-call.

[Loki]

On roughing the passer calls, the defensive player is allowed to take one step after the ball was released and any contact, as long as it isn't to the QB's helmet, is supposed to be considered incidental. Otherwise they would be asking them to go from hot pursuit to a dead stop instantly, which is physically impossible.

For the record the earlier roughing call against Seattle was also bullshit. Even my wife, a devout Packer fan, agreed.

[Brett L]

Exactly. Anyone who gives up 8 sacks in one half has no one to blame but themselves for a loss. If you don't want the refs to beat you, don't let it come down to one possession.

Watching last night's game, the only bad calls in the first half were personal fouls that weren't as bad in slo-mo as they looked in real-time. The refs were doing exactly what the chatterati asked, throw flags early to protect players. People are pissed because there's holding on every play and hand checking on every pass, and now it gets called more often. Guess what, just because the "pro" refs had grades, you can't expect a whole new corps to come in and call it the same. Give 'em a season and it will get more consistent.

[Randian]

To add to your point, you can't blame them for calling holding on every play because there is holding on every play. It just isn't called as some sort of 'courtesy' or whatnot.

[wareagle]

then the league set these guys up failure by NOT pointing out the differences between what's called in D-3 and what's called in the NFL. A lot of the things in dispute would have been better served by no-calls.

[generic Brand]

Then the League should've simplified its absurdly large rulebook for these scabs. We get mad when they don't call it like it should be called; we get mad when they do it call it by the letter of the law. As you said, they are being set up for failure.

I have zero sympathy for the original refs. I think these replacement officials should be getting paid to go to an intensive training 6 hours a day for the next few weeks until they are actually capable of calling things without meeting at midfield after every play. But I would not be upset if the original refs stay locked out.

[Ted S.]

Yes, that was a tie.

[wareagle]

I hope your point is that the pic shows the opposite of a tie.

[Auric Demonocles]

I assume he forgot his sarc tag.

[Ted S.]

I assumed reason commenters were intelligent enough to detect sarcasm.

[Loki]

Bullshit. ONE HAND != possesion.

[Auric Demonocles]

I saw someone describe it as "apparently if you catch the guy who catches the ball it counts".

[Auric Demonocles]

How many people remember ... Brady Tuck Rule

You mean the completely correct ruling (for a stupid rule)?

[hamilton]

Seconded.

[hamilton]

Although, I'll note, this and other aspects of that Pats season do remind me of how football turns on little things. Without the Tuck rule does the dynasty happen? Or, given the Tuck Rule, if David Givens' unconscious body lying across the sideline does not happen to make contact with the fumbled football, maybe the Dynasty never exists. Think about that.

Don't say football isn't deep.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, it's amazing how changing small things changes the entire narrative history of the game.

With the Pats, it goes the other way, too. Eli Manning is going to the Hall of Fame because of two catches that don't happen if two or three molecules of air are in a slightly different place.

[hamilton]

You got me started, now. But this is in fact one of the things that I hate about sports talk radio (Felger specifically here in Boston). Just one of maybe five things that are Incredibly Unlikely doesn't happen in 2007, and the Pats are the Greatest Football Team of All Time. All five of those things* happen, and it's a colossal failure and I don't watch TV or the intertubes for two weeks and talk radio bitches about the Pats' lack of success since 2004. Go figure.

*1. Manning being called in the grasp
2. That fucking catch
3. Interception held on to in the end zone by that goddamn Samuel
4. Screw it I'm already depressed and done with this list.

[John]

You will never get over that game. Trust me. I had the misfortune of pulling for a team (83 Nebraska) that was at the time considered not just a champion but the best team ever only to lose in an improbably upset in the title game. It is the worst. Your team can always win another title in another year. But the chance to be the best ever only comes once.

The Patriots had one shot to do the impossible and go 19-0 and stake an undisputed claim for best ever. And in one game they went from that to not even being in the conversation because they didn't win the ring. They could win ten Super Bowls and never make up for that.

Yeah, you can go kill yourself now.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

1983 Nebraska couldn't have done dick against Texas' defense. Deal with it.

Try losing because someone who doesn't return punts was put back to receive due to fear of a fake punt who then muffs it.

[John]

Night Elf,

83 Nebraska had the best offensive line, one of the best quarterbacks, and a 2000 yard rusher and the number one overall pick at receiver. They would have hung 50 on Texas in the first half. The SWC was total crap in the early 1980s. Texas played no one all year and then lost in the Cotton Bowl when they played a fair to midland Georgia team. Texas gave up over 300 yards and 16 points to a four loss OU team. You think they would have stopped Nebraska that year? Dream on.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Georgia was #4. Texas lost on 2 missed chipshot FGs, a muffed punt by someone who didn't return punts, and a tackled LB on Georgia's TD.

I don't have the scan of the quote on this computer, but Switzer said Texas was better than Nebraska in '83.

[John]

You don't have the quote because Switzer never said any such thing. And Nebraska steam rolled everyone they played that year. Even their loss was a very underrated Miami team on their home field. No defense stopped Nebraska that year. They would have beaten Texas by from two to three scores.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I don't have it because this is probably the 10th computer I've had in the last 15 years or so since I got the scan. I'll see if I can find someone who has it.

Hell, OU was beating Nebraska well into the 3d quarter and Nebraska only won by 7. Texas was beating OU 28-10 before OU scored a meaningless TD in the 4th to make it 28-16. Texas dominated a team Nebraska needed a second half comeback to beat.

Texas' offense scored as much on OU as Nebraska's "juggernaut" and gave up fewer points.

I give Osborne credit for going for two against Miami, but if we'd had the BCS at the time, Texas would have beaten Nebraska by double digits.

[Fluffy]

I'm over the first game because of the second game.

When the catch was made in the second game, I said, "No fucking way this happens twice."

I was just so dumbfounded I was no longer capable of anguishing over it.

[John]

Boston was never a football town. Patriots fans never deserved Bellicheck and Brady. Those two Super Bowls are nothing but karmic payback for being so unworthy of the Patriots' run.

[hamilton]

See, whereas I watched the second, saw Welker miss the catch (not that I have a strong opinion on whether it was Welker or Brady's fault BTW), and turned to my friends and said "We just lost this game", even though we were ahead.

Fast forward to 2 nights ago, when I felt the same way and said the same thing.

I mourn for the days when I was optimistic and exuberant in our glory. It's like being a libertarian now when I grew up Democratic. I feel like I'm more grounded in reality now, but reality is depressing.

[John]

Welker drops that ball. Then the next summer it turns out that Pedrioa is part of the problem in the Red Sox locker room. Short scrappy white guys always break Boston fan's hearts.

[Kurt]

"3. Interception held on to in the end zone by that goddamn Samuel"

*Citation Needed*

[EDG reppin' LBC]

/

Without the Tuck rule does the dynasty happen?

As a Raiders fan, let me begin this diatribe by saying Fuck the Patriots! I'm not a conspiracy guy, but I swear to god there were nefarious forces at work in the background attempting to get the "Patriots" into the Super Bowl following the 9/11 tragedy. After the "tuck rule" sealed the deal, the fix was in on SuperBowl XXXVI. The Rams had no shot at winning, as it was predetermined that the "Patriots" would win, thus beating the terrorists. America, Fuck Yeah!

[John]

That and the fact that Belicheck was taping the Rams' practices during Super Bowl week. I will give them the other two. But no way did they deserve the first one.

[Fluffy]

I still say that the Commissioner had no power to discipline them for that, because it wasn't against the rules.

[Mo]

That was only called one other time in the history of the NFL. Everyone knew that Tags and the refs had it in for the Raiders ever since Al Davis sued the NFL and won.

P.S. He did re-tuck after the pump fake.

[Auric Demonocles]

That was only called one other time in the history of the NFL.

Page two says it's called over a dozen times a year

[Loki]

the Green Bay player held it closer to his body, but he did not have sole possession, and a tie goes to the offense.

The Seattle player had one hand on the ball. That is NOT possesion. The only explanation for the refs blowing that call is that they were clearly a group of homeless meth-heads from an alley way across from the stadium. They just handed them a rule book 5 minutes before kickoff and promised them a bottle of whiskey and a crack rock apiece to come referee the game.

That's the only explanation for the level of incompetence that was on display last night.

[Whiterun Guard]

Payback for the Super Bowl that was Steeled from them.

[RBS]

I should have stayed up to watch the end. I lost patience with the media whining sometime during the pre-season. I think db makes a good point. Sure some of the calls have been terrible but now it seems like every blown call results in Chris Collinsworth getting up on his high horse whereas in the past it would just get shrugged off as part of the refs not being perfect.

[generic Brand]

That is the other thing about this whole brouhaha that is upsetting. Not so much the commentators on the Monday/Tuesday morning quarterback shows, like Mike-amp-Mike, or Around the Horn, or PTI. But the announcers of a weekly game, who would love to claim impartiality each week, blatantly show their true colors.

I saw that last night with Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico denouncing anything meaningful done by the Seahawks and yet praising a chip block of all things by the Packers.

[generic Brand]

Oh, and I guess the bigger point was that Al Michaels and Collinsworth, and Gruden and Tirico, just blatantly called out the referees for the second half of the Sunday and Monday night games.

[Randian]

Don't speak too soon: Mike ? Mike were going nuts this morning on the subject.

[generic Brand]

I listened to them on the way in. I guess my point including them got lost in the jumble...

I expect the after-game commentators to come out in favor of one thing or against another. They are trying to generate a conversation to boost ratings, get the listener/viewer involved, etc. But the ones calling the game live in the booth should be much more impartial. Instead we get Troy Aikman and Joe Buck slobbering all over Aaron Rodgers's knob, Jon Gruden and his homoerotic obsessions ("Let me tell you about THAT GUY!")--NTTAWWT--for one team over another, and Al Michaels (who is just an idiot and should not be the face of "The Most Watched TV Series in America").

[RBS]

UGGH, they are the worst. Listening to them fills me with rage. Morning sportstalk was ruined when FSN fired Steve Czaban

[BakedPenguin]

Hey guys, just got in. Was there some kind of controversial football play last night?

[generic Brand]

Nah, just a bunch of Packers-sympathizers complaining about their loss.

[Loki]

Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico denouncing anything meaningful done by the Seahawks and yet praising a chip block of all things by the Packers.

Sounds like someone's a butthurt Seahawks fan. Don't worry, win a couple more games get handed a couple of more games against "good" teams and they'll start polishing Patrick Wilson's knob too. Actually they already were to some extent last night. I'm surprised you didn't notice.

[generic Brand]

Sounds like someone is projecting. I have no interest in the Seahawks winning or losing. What I would like to see is Green Bay, New England, and Pittsburgh no longer put on this pedestal of being "dat team!" by the talking heads. Especially when they are supposed to be impartial announcers for a football game watched by the entire country.

Also, I have no idea who "Patrick Wilson" is.

[Restoras]

I bet TV ratings are up. Advertisers are thrilled, NFL is pissed b/c they aren't benefitting from the extra eyeballs.

[Mo]

The replacement refs are far worse than the regular refs, even using the low bar that existed before. Jeff Triplette would be an above average ref with these clowns. I mean, if they were so good at officiating football, why are they still in Div III? If the replacement refs did a credible job officiating the NFL would win in a walk, but Goodell took a gamble and lost.

The media is usually Goodell's lap dog. When Peter King and NBC, who are Goodell's Pravda, turn on the NFL, it's over.

[John]

I agree. A few years ago Seattle lost a playoff spot because of a blown call in overtime against the Jets. I don't see how these guys are any worse than the regular refs

[Mo]

Good/bad isn't a binary thing. These guys are making lots of terrible calls and have no control over things on the field. The problem is the coaches and players are learning the refs' weaknesses faster than the refs are learning how to officiate a game at NFL speeds.

[John]

True. But I am not convinced that the calls are any worse than they would have been otherwise. They blew the call last night. But as I said above, regular refs have blown calls late that have directly changed the game. Maybe they are making more bad calls. But I don't see it. What I see is the usual mix of good and bad calls with probably fewer personal fouls and coaches and players being more bold confronting refs, which I don't see as a big deal.

Someone pointed out below how so many marquee franchises (The Packers, Steelers, Patriots) have started out 1-2. It makes me wonder if maybe these refs are calling a more fair game and that the regular refs don't because they favor star players and star franchises. I don't know that. But I wonder if it might be true.

[Randian]

Come on, John...I am sympathetic to the replacement refs here, but 27 yard penalties and five time outs is just basic shit.

[John]

Sure it is. But the regular refs are basically shit.

[Mo]

Once again, crappiness is not binary.

[Mo]

They've been blowing lots of calls. DHB almost got decapitated in the Steelers game and there was no call. The problem is that they're calling things really inconsistently and it's hard to tell what's going to get called from play to play. Granted this existed to an extent with the old refs, but it's been far worse. Not to mention all of the games are so much longer because these guys are throwing flags all over the place. The number of picked up flags is crazy.

Heck in the Niners game, they gave Harbaugh 2 reviews when he had no timeouts remaining. You're not allowed to do that.

[gaijin]

the problem is that they're calling things really inconsistently and it's hard to tell what's going to get called from play to play.

Sounds sort of like how the federal reserve and regulatory agencies are running things. 🙂

[gaijin]

Why do we have mandatory reviews after every scoring play or turnover this year? It certainly isn't because the old refs were doing such a bangup job.

[John]

I think that has always been the rule.

[Mo]

The turnover thing is new.

[Auric Demonocles]

No, that's only I think 2 years old.

[Auric Demonocles]

Also: "every" scoring play excludes the field goals in which the ball goes above the top of the uprights. You know, the ones that are actually ambiguous enough to need review.

[Kaptious Kristen]

The result was the Packers lost. I'm having a hard time being upset.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Agreed. Maybe if Discount Double Choke and his "Greatest Offense Ever" had been able to sustain drives, Seattle wouldn't have been in a position to win anyway.

[Brett L]

Traditionally, when the ends pin their ears back, teams run draws. Green Bay decided they'd just run more slow developing pass plays.

[Mo]

Even the lingerie football league recognized that these guys are terrible.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoor.....ngerie-foo

[Restoras]

Well, I doubt they were able to actually pay close attention to the acutal play as opposed to the players. The LFL needs women refs - preferably hot ones also scantily clad.

[Virginian]

Oh and instead of yardage it could be spankings for penalties.

[Auric Demonocles]

With decent officiating in the primetime games, I've had clawed my way back to 8-8 for the weekend. Wild weekend.

[Don Mynack]

It was in general a terribly-called game, the last play being a judgement call that was much less terrible than a bunch of other calls.

I don't get the "player safety" issue. The refs are calling penalties on that stuff out the wazoo. If anything, they are calling too much of it.

Let's face it - if players really cared about each other, they wouldn't be trying to kill each other. Why doesn't the NFLPA tell it members to take it easy on the crazy hits already!

[Pip]

I think when you give the San Fran team 5 timeouts in the second half, you are epic suck.

[Pope Jimbo]

If the announcers of the MN-49ers game hadn't gotten some clown back at HQ to tell them that you can't review a play after taking a TO, would you have known that rule?

I didn't realize that the refs were jobbing the Vikes until after the announcers read the rule out. Although, I don't understand why they couldn't have relayed that info to the ref when he was trying to review the play.

Also, why keep giving Gerhard the ball after he has fumbled on 2 of his last 3 carries? Because you hate inexactitude of .666666666666666 and wanted the nice clean .75 stat after he fumbled the next one?

[Auric Demonocles]

If the announcers of the MN-49ers game hadn't gotten some clown back at HQ to tell them that you can't review a play after taking a TO, would you have known that rule?

Virtually every fan in the NFL knows that you can't challenge once you're out of timeouts. He used his last timeout. That's it, no more challenges.

[Pope Jimbo]

I know I'm dumb enough to be an outlier, but I was sitting in a bar when this happened and no one really thought of that angle until the announcers pointed it out.

Once they did, the folks started howling about the Vikes getting robbed.

I think it was mostly because the last TO and the challenge happened at the same time (well almost the same time).

Maybe what they say about VIkings fan is true. We really are dumber than the average NFL tard.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

This is what's going to happen when the regulars get back this season--immediate "hosannas" from the media and many fans. The former will praise the "higher caliber" of refereeing for a time, and the fans will grumble about calls against their guys, but say, "at least it's not the replacements making these calls, so there's more legitimacy."

Sometime before the season ends, one of the regulars is going to make a call that is blatantly egregious and impacts the outcome of the game. Maybe not a Hochuli-level mistake, but a pass interference call or something of that nature. And when it happens, you'll hear a bunch of lame apologias from the media about how competent the regulars are and that the integrity of the game hasn't been damaged in any way.

[mr simple]

Weapon smugglers have been arrested in Moldova for trafficking uranium-235, assault rifles, hand grenades, and RPGs.

Looks like it's time to bomb Moldova, followed by a massive land war and occupation. Here we go again!

[Rich]

This is not the first reported case of uranium-235 smuggling in Transnistria.

Careful with the bombing, Mr. Simple. We don't want a de facto dirty bomb contaminating the occupation.

[mr simple]

Hey, I just order the wars. The logistics of it all are up to the guys on the ground.

[Restoras]

So, what did the Sean Connery character in The Untouchables say about bringing a watergun to a knife fight?

[Whiterun Guard]

You're the man now, dog?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Doesn't look like it's a great time to be moonlighting as a replacement football referee.

The league could always simplify the rule book.

[db]

Attack the guy with the ball. No gouging eyes.

[Whiterun Guard]

Back in my day you didn't get paid until you gouged out at least three eyes. We called it a 'Bikini'.

[Palin's Buttplug]

There should be no such thing as an "illegal formation". It is a vestige from primitive flying wedges and the like.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

That really is one of the stupider rules. The defense gets to line up in any way it chooses (at one point, I saw Green Bay have one guy put his hand down while everyone else stood up), but the offense can't do the same? What kind of bullshit is that?

[Jerry on the road]

Tintin comics 'too racist' for Stockholm library:

"The image the Tintin books give of Africans is Afro-phobic, for example. Africans are a bit dumb, while Arabs sit on flying carpets and Turks smoke water pipes," explained Behrang Miri, who is in charge of the youth department in the library, to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN).

(...)

Meanwhile, staff at the library is working on investigating the content of other children's books in the department in the aim of giving a consistent image for their readers without stereotypes, genders issues, or homophobia.

[tarran]

In other words, the library is going to be even less relevant!

By all means mr Nyheter, make your library as interesting as the state-run church.

[gaijin]

just don;t expect them to require any fewer public funds for operating

[Rich]

"Children don't read the fine print, they just get into the story immediately. The biased picture is stigmatizing."

Banning graphic novels in 3, 2, 1, ....

Also, I suppose Tintin books depict the Swedes as herring-munching blonds.

[invisible furry hand]

One of the comments attacks this decision and says "No more Pippi L?ngstrump!" Longstocking sounded like a male porn name in English, but in Swedish it just sounds whorish

[Palin's Buttplug]

The National Lampoon 'Guide to Foreigners' is classic 70's perfection.

[robc]

Astros clinch last in NL...relegated to Junior Circuit next season.

[Restoras]

That would be so cool...

[robc]

Ummm...its true.

Okay, the two events are unrelated, but its still true.

[db]

Maybe they ought to do that...have a churn at the bottom of the major leagues and the top of the minors.

[wareagle]

Reno, by virtue of having won the Triple-A Series, is ready to move up.

[Whiterun Guard]

Lt Dangle would be so proud.

[robc]

It would be great. Ive been pushing for it for, literally, 24 years now. Owners will never go for it.

It requires doing 2 things:

1. Freeing the minors, or at least part of them. The D2 league cant be farm teams.

2. Owners accepting that their multimillion dollar investment can be halved or more in value due to one bad year.

Oh, and on a related note, 1/6th of the way thru the season, Rangers are in 2nd place in the Scottish 3rd division. There is sentence I never thought I would write in my life. They are behind another Glasgow club, so it should be a position they are used to.

[robc]

I know its 24 years, because it was the Bill James' essay Revolution that set me off on this. He didnt mention it, it was the one flaw in that article (which was about freeing the minors and letting competition flow). But it was so obviously the one bit left out.

[robc]

Oh yeah, the 24 years part...the essay was in his 1988 Abstract.

[generic Brand]

Minor league size stadiums would cause a problem for having a team move up to the bigs, though.

[wareagle]

why...you don't think those towns can force taxpayers to pay for new ballparks? In related news, I believe Seattle has approved construction a new arena. No comment yet from Epi but one imagines that he will be thrilled.

[robc]

That would be corrected over time.

I think a free minors draws much more attendance than it does now. If you go to many minor league games, you see when decisions are being made, not to win, but to train a player.

Things like playing a first baseman in left field, because the big league club has a good 1B under a long contract. Who cares if he makes 3 errors, he is learning to play the position!

[db]

One way of doing it would be to make it a condition of participation in the league that owners of the bottom teams must share revenue with the top minor teams. That way a team that just had a bad year could remain at the top of the minors and have a good shot at moving back up. I don't think that would actually abate any of the owners' concerns though. I don't really know enough about baseball business to say much more, but I don't think teams/owners should be entitled to the kind of revenue associated with a major league sports team forever. There shouod be some mechanism other than outright purchase of an existing franchise for new blood to get in the game.

[db]

Of course, maybe outright purchase is best...put your money where your mouth is. But I think from the league's perspective it does no good to have a set of teams perennially wandering in the muck at the bottom.

[T]

Check out what the Bundesliga does. They basically have a best of the losers tournament. The bottom teams in D1 compete with the top teams in D2 with the winners going to D1 and the losers relegated to D2. I think it's a fantastic system.

[invisible furry hand]

i thought it was mixed - 2 get automatic promotion/relegation, and the third best/worst play off. But you're right, promotion/relegation is great. Liverpool is five games into the season and in the relegation zone, and my heart goes boom-bitty-boom

[robc]

Everton is in a Champions League spot and Liverpool is in the relegation zone.

END THE SEASON NOW!!!!

[KeithC]

I'm definitely feeling 'othered' by the LFC bashing in the above two posts.

Seriously, though, despite being 18th, they're playing pretty well, seem to be adapting to Rodgers' system and the squad is rather young. I'm not too angry... yet.

[robc]

My "Emperor of Baseball" solution.

Expand the "majors" to 48 teams, so add 18 teams.

Split into two divisions of 24 teams. So, in year 1, 6 MLB teams get relegated to MLB2.

D1 has 4 divisions of 6 teams, AL-East/West, NL-East/West. 18-12 schedules with no interleague. Basically, the pre-expansion scheduling.

D2 also has 4 divisions of 6. Two leagues, an Eastern league and a Western league (to cut down on travel costs) each with a national and american division.

So, if the Cubs finish 6th in the NL-West, they would play the next year in the Western League-National Divison.

If you win a D2 division you go up.

With the worries about stadium size...I would do like soccer leagues do and put a minimum size for promotion, or to even be added to the league. Doing a little math...24692 would be my minimum required size (2M in attendance if you sell out 81 games).

[generic Brand]

You wouldn't go back to shorter seasons? Overall I like it, though interleague play is fun for the cross-town rivals (even though my Cubs got spanked).

[RBS]

Am I the only Cubs fan hoping they "accomplish" 100 loses this season?

[generic Brand]

Am I the only Cubs fan hoping they "accomplish" 100 loses this season?

I'm not opposed to it, knowing that 2013 is the start of our 3-year pennant dynasty as predicted by Back to the Future.

[robc]

162 games is fine, no reason to go back to 154. With 12 teams, 162 works better for scheduling.

I would go back to 4 team playoffs, instead of 8, which shortens things about 1.5 weeks.

[Fluffy]

I think they need to switch back to 154 games even if they go back to 4 team playoffs.

Because I've noticed that the new, no-wiggle-room calendar has led the league to lean on umpires to not suspend games during rain, due to the difficulty of making the games up. A really HUGE amount of shitty non-games were played in Boston this year to keep the teams on the field when conditions clearly called for the game to be suspended.

This obviously isn't a problem in dome cities, but that's not the whole league.

[robc]

new?

They have been at 162 games since the early 60s, when they expanded to 10 teams.

It was the whole reason for the Maris asterisk.

The bigger problem is that with more teams and interleague play, there are less chances for double headers as teams may only be visiting once. Thus, a need to get games in.

[Fluffy]

The wildcard playoff schedule is relatively new.

That's what puts the real pressure on the regular season. It's 162 games, bounded by snow on the front end and the wildcard playoff series on the back end. And now for this year there's one MORE wildcard playoff game.

They squeezed out what little wiggle room there was.

Small changes make a big difference when the calendar is already full. It's like when the NHL went from best of 5 opening rounds to best of 7. Two more games, but all of a sudden the season somehow ended in July.

[robc]

Hence, when I get rid of the wildcard round, no need to shrink 162 game schedule.

Can go back to starting on Monday too, instead of midweek.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

With the worries about stadium size...I would do like soccer leagues do and put a minimum size for promotion, or to even be added to the league.

That would be the deal-breaker right there unless the minimums were more accomodating to current minor league stadium dimensions. In this economic environment, finding new sites or expanding stadiums to 35,000 or so, when owners would be begging for public funding for the projects, would essentially kill support in many of the proposed expansion cities.

[BakedPenguin]

Rangers are in 2nd place in the Scottish 3rd division. Wow. Just, wow.

[robc]

You know the details right? Its Newco Rangers which isnt technically the same Rangers.

[21044]

Hopefully the financial mess relegation has put an end to the sectarian nonsense.

I was a Rangers supported when I lived on that side of the pond, but primarily because the late ex-father-in-law was a Celtic supporter and he loved nothing greater than to argue about football.

I liked the team colours too.

[Brett L]

Love our Lastros.

[invisible furry hand]

STEVE SMITH is on vacation

'They just rushed away, all in fur, walking on two legs': Three yeti 'sightings' in Siberia in a week

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z27UDrwiuc

[Fist of Etiquette]

His running mate, Paul Ryan, has given his own assessment of the situation, saying that the Middle East now looks like Iran circa 1979.

Donning his Ayatollah Assahola t-shirt for effect.

[Fluffy]

HA HA PACKERS!!!!

NYAH NYAH NYAH NAH NAH!!!!

[Restoras]

I LOL'd.

[wareagle]

my outrage over officiating lost some steam on learning that one of the holdups in negotiations is over pensions for refs. Pensions for a part-time job that, I believe, pays more than the median full-time salary in the country.

[robc]

Not only that, the NFL is offering a 401K plan that the league will contribute to heavily.

The refs are refusing to accept self-directed plans.

[LTC(ret) John]

C'mon, its not like these guys are used to making decisions or anything...wait, what?

[Whiterun Guard]

Who has time to manage your own retirement plan when you have to work upwards of 4 hours a week.

[Don Mynack]

Whiterun Guard +1

[wareagle]

why is there any kind of plan at all? Most of these guys are lawyers and such by day, anyway. Same old song - if you want to find the answer/problem, follow the money.

[Drake]

So why lock them out instead of using them until the current contract expired? If the Refs actually went on strike on a ridiculous pension demand, they would look bad, not the NFL.

The best way to break an unwarranted strike is to publicize their demands.

[Restoras]

Yes, that's right. Fuck them. It's just football anyway - it's not like it's actually important.

[John]

Exactly. The wining over this is hysterical. The same people who have let the NFL virtually ruin the game by changing the rules so that the defenses don't have a chance are now bitching and moaning about substitute refs, as if the regular refs don't suck as well. All I can say to the NFL fan is tough shit. You are the ones who have made demand completely inelastic to the quality of football. You can't now blame the owners for not giving a shit what you think about the quality of the game. You are still watching aren't you?

[Restoras]

I think more people are watching now than before. Besides, overtime the refs will get better.

If the quality of the product/brand is being damaged it doesn't seem to be driving fans away.

[John]

No. And it won't. If it doesn't affect the bottom line, why should the owners care? Their job is to make money not produce artistic football.

[free2booze]

In the short term it will be a big deal, but eventually the league will work something out with the union, everyone can go back to bitching about the regular refs, and this will all be a distant memory.

The fall out from this can't be worse than the recent NBA lockout. Despite missing a huge chunk of the season, the playoffs experienced record TV ratings. This to shall pass.

[Randian]

Will another impending lost season from the NHL kill that sport off for good? I am thinking it will come close, for sure.

[John]

In America Randian. Not in Canada. But maybe in America. I know a lot of hockey fans who are all saying "if I have to go through this every five years forget it". I can't believe they are going to be that stupid.

[Fluffy]

Their problem is that now the salaries in Europe are too high.

So if the league implodes, the players will start signing multiyear deals in Europe, and if a large number of players bail on the NHL, the league is dead.

It's only the top quality league because the salary disparity brings the best European players to North America. If the salary cap they want changes that, they're fucked. Especially because driving players to the European leagues sets up a feedback loop where the quality of the game over there increases, which increases revenue and thus salaries...until one day the NHL isn't the top league in the world any more, and turns into what the KHL is now.

[$park?]

I didn't bother watching any football last weekend. I watched a bunch of games this weekend and it made me feel about my decision to not watch the week before. At this point I'll just check the scores on Monday, maybe watch some recaps on ESPN.

[$park?]

feel *better*

[John]

I got very cynical about the NFL sometime in the late 1990s. I really feel the quality of football has been declining for a long time. So I quit watching.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It appears they may just be worth it.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Get back to me when a replacement ref blinds a player.

[wareagle]

a part of me is surprised that no one has brought that up. All that field to work with and the ref threw the flag directly into the player's face.

[Brett L]

I'm pissed. After upset weekend, I was very tempted to change my pick'em choice to the Seahawks. Then I thought, "maybe I've had too much to drink." No more doubting the alcohol this season. Nothing is too crazy.

[generic Brand]

I LOVE the replacement refs, because now it no longer seems like the anointed teams in the NFL are as such. The Packers, 1-2. The Saints, 0-3. The Patriots, 1-2. The Steelers, 1-2.

Maybe these games are turning on a few bad calls, but that happens EVERY. DAMN. WEEK. It seems that in the grand scheme of things, the better teams are just winning now.

[Palin's Buttplug]

If it turns on a blown call then the better team is hard to identify. Eight sacks in the first half is pretty damn impressive.

[RBS]

Good point, now all we need are some replacement refs for the upcoming ACC basketball season.

[robc]

The TRM will never allow that.

[wareagle]

TRM? Is that some version of the Roy/K axis?

[robc]

Tobacco Road Mafia.

[wareagle]

so I was right. My oldest went to Carolina but even he'll admit the Heels Devils get breaks others cannot even think about.

[robc]

There is a clear call order in the ACC:

Tier 1: UNC/Duke
Tier 2: NC St/Wake
Tier 3: Everyone else

SEC football also has one:

Tier 1: Team competing for national title this season
Tier 2: Everyone else

Which is why UK gets screwed by the refs vs UF every time the game is close (which isnt often).

[robc]

Note, that is ACC basketball only. ACC football is just random. Not good, but fair, in the long run.

[Bobarian]

Do they play football in the ACC?

[John]

I spent my youth as a Nebraska fan but then went to Oklahoma State to college and started pulling for both. It was a great laboratory into how refs favor top teams. In the 80s and 90s when Nebraska was dominant and OSU was pretty lousy, OSU never got a call and Nebraska always did. But then in the late 00s it changed OSU got good and Nebraska got pretty mediocre. And it was astounding how Nebraska started getting screwed every game and OSU actually got a few calls. And as bad as it is in football, it is much worse in basketball.

[wareagle]

a few years back, the SEC actually suspended a football crew after some particularly horrendous calls, one in a UF game and the other with UGA/LSU. In the aggregate, however, you are right. The call will never go against certain schools and nothing else will happen.

[robc]

IIRC, the suspended crews made bad calls against the favorite.

They also suspended the crew that maybe the "Jasper Thanks!" fumble call in that uga-GT game. Did the SEC crew that made a bad call against GT 2 years earlier get suspended? Nope.

And really, suspending a crew for possibly blowing (I contend that they got the call right, but Im being a homer on it, so YMMV) a borderline fumble/down call in the pre-review era? Really? That is a suspendable act?

[John]

That is a suspendable act?

When it goes against a league favorite it is Rob.

[robc]

When it goes against a league favorite it is Rob.

uga was 8-3 at the time, so not quite. But it was an OOC rivalry game. Hence the suspension.

[robc]

7-3, typing hard.

[wareagle]

IIRC, the suspended crews made bad calls against the favorite.

no, actually the opposite, which made it all the more remarkable. UF, Tebow years, got the benefit of a horrible call that kept a late-game drive alive. And LSU benefited against an inferior UGA team.

In a sense, it was ironic since fans yapping about certain teams benefiting is usually dismissed as loser talk. But in these cases, the favorites clearly got the breaks and even Vern/Gary noticed. My own homer exception is that bama never, regardless how good or bad the team is, gets bad calls.

[robc]

Yall got some favorable calls a few years back.

Like the NCAA hand waving away the 180k. 🙂

[wareagle]

the 180K was Miss St, not us. There was never an allegation that AU offered up money. It began with an ex-MSU guy who talked to Cecil about $$. Come on; at least have your facts straight.

[robc]

Yeah, Cam's Dad took the smaller offer...righhhhht.

[robc]

Also, there was an allegation, hence Newton being suspended for 24 hours.

[wareagle]

there was no alternate offer; do your own research. Money was tied to Miss St. The AU suspension was to get things squared with the NCAA. As it was, Cecil got no money. Cam did okay.

[robc]

The AU suspension was to get things squared with the NCAA.

Things dont have to be squared unless their is an allegation.

Cecil got no money

That could be tracked by the NCAA.

[robc]

there, even.

[wareagle]

the allegation of pay-for-play centered on Miss St. AU has no shortage of boosters who could have given Cecil money, but none was alleged to have done so. AU's move was more procedural than anything else. 24-hour suspension; come on.

With Miss St, there were names, allegations, stories, etc, beginning with an ex-player who represented himself as something he may not have been. And much of the NCAA's involvement is traceable to a couple of articles fed to folks by Urban Meyer and UF itself, Meyer having been Dan Mullen's boss. Meyer let Cam go for far less than what many of the guys he kept did, and it made him look bad.

I may be wrong on some things but not this one.

[John]

It makes you wonder if the regular refs don't favor certain teams doesn't it?

[Auric Demonocles]

Yeah, those damn regular refs have been keeping the Cardinals down.

[Tim]

Thgey should all just run out and start playing soccer. See if the refs notice.

[invisible furry hand]

Oh sweet Jesus

FX Developing 'Fargo' TV Series With Joel Ethan Coen http://prefixm.ag/OZBuXH

[Restoras]

My prediction: Two Thumbs Down.

[Rich]

Yep. Into the chipper.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I guess the Helena Bonham Carter of the Co-Bros wants to transition to cable TV.

How about the rest of the cast:
Buscemi is already on TV, so they've got a shot at getting him.
Stormare doesn't really have anything else going on, so put him down for a maybe.
And, as Marmaduke shows, William H. Macy has lost his mind, so hopefully they can sign him on too.
Now if only they can get the awkward Asian guy!

[Tim]

Will the network force them to have an ethnically accurate all white cast?

[Greg83]

They should bring this guy, he can do the whole movie himself:

http://youtu.be/3z7O_VZ9zN4

[Palin's Buttplug]

'Fargo' is the least memorable of the Coen films I have seen. Lebowski and O Brother the most.

[H. Reardon]

I don't know how you forget a guy being shoved in a wood chipper, the spray of blood on fresh snow.

I'd rate 'Ladykillers' as their worst, 'Blood Simple' their best.

[RBS]

I liked Ladykillers, not saying it was their best effort though.

[Randian]

Ladykillers is great.

The Hudsucker Proxy is obviously the worst.

[invisible furry hand]

RBS/Randian, just curious, had you seen the original before the remake? I love the original and heard such terrible things about the remake that it became the first CB movie I missed.

[Randian]

I like them both, but I did see the remake first.

[RBS]

I have never seen the original, been meaning to watch it though.

[KMA Too]

If it doesn't include a line very similar to, "I swear to God, if ass was nickles, you'd be a motherfuckin' millionaire!", I'll pass.

Just sayin'...

[invisible furry hand]

Well it was an Ealing comedy, so no swearing, just the blackest of black humour. One of my all-time favourites is Kind Hearts and Coronets, which is a very funny film about a serial killer preying on his own family

[Fluffy]

I just saw this post and I am stunned.

Hudsucker is clearly the best.

[Randian]

__br /
No.

That is all.

[Citizen Nothing]

You know. For kids.

[Bobarian]

Best - Raising Arizona
Worst - Hudsucker or Intolerable Cruelty

[John]

http://professional.wsj.com/ar.....s_comments

The Wall Street Journal talks about the problem of generation retard. The depressing money quote

But considerable evidence suggests that many employers would be happy just to find job applicants who have the sort of "soft" skills that used to be almost taken for granted. In the Manpower Group's 2012 Talent Shortage Survey, nearly 20% of employers cited a lack of soft skills as a key reason they couldn't hire needed employees. "Interpersonal skills and enthusiasm/motivation" were among the most commonly identified soft skills that employers found lacking...

The skills shortage is not just an absence of workers who can write computer code, operate complex graphics software or manipulate cultures in a biotech lab?as real as that scarcity is. Many people lack what the writer R.R. Reno has called "forms of social discipline" that are indispensable components of a person's human capital and that are needed for economic success.

[Randian]

Hand-wringing about this arbitrary "generation" or that "cultural trend" is the most tiresome kind of commentary.

[RBS]

It's one of John's favorite hobbies.

[John]

It is except when it is actually backed up by statistics. And the statistics are pretty damned depressing. Everyone admits the public schools are broken and often function as nothing more than jobs programs for teachers' unions. You don't think that doesn't effect the end product of skilled (or lack thereof) labor?

[invisible furry hand]

Everyone admits the public schools are broken and often function as nothing more than jobs programs for teachers' unions.

Once again John you exaggerate and distort the truth. They are not "nothing more than jobs programs". They also function as warehouses for children

[John]

Touche. I forgot the valuable service of babysitting.

[VG Zaytsev]

And welfare delivery.

Kids aren't going to seek out those crappy breakfast and lunches themselves.

[wareagle]

A) it's part of human nature; every generation complains about the one after it. If I had a nickel for every time someone talked about walking to school in hip-deep snow 6 miles both ways and twice on Saturday......

B) there is a certain amount of truth to it that reveals how slow education is to change in order to adapt to changing society. I really doubt there is a scarcity of coders and software folks, article to the contrary, but there is a clear change in how the younger generation communicates and it does not necessarily translate well when they join an older environment.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, we are better educated than ever and with more complex subjects. Literacy rates are way up.

Of course about 10% of the population is unteachable but that is no excuse for the wingnut hatred of public schools.

People like John just want Christian madrasses fucking kids up with school prayer.

[wareagle]

no, we're NOT better-educated. I run across 20-somethings every day who are virtually clueless how the world around them came to be. Young folks are extremely adept at finding out what they do not know through technology, but seem to forget the info almost upon learning it.

Blaming 'wingnut hatred' for the ridiculous drop-out rate among minorities conveniently misses the point. Of course, schools are failing; they are govt-run and no govt effort ever retools itself to account for societal change. It's why Med/SS are going broke: 70 and 50-year old biz models that have not changed.

[Randian]

alright grampa, time for your nap.

[wareagle]

yup, it's always about you; you are the spokesman for the entire generation, junior. If you are the exception, good for you but your ability has not rubbed off on many of your peers.

[Randian]

Seriously, do you need some Metamucil or something?

[wareagle]

seems you are the one who needs something. Stop pretending to be the patron saint of generation next. But keep at it with those snappy age-related rejoinders.

[Randian]

Do I need a good strappin'?

Should I take a time-out on the davenport?

Are you going to wash my mouth out with soap?

[invisible furry hand]

m I right in thinking wareagle is a Boomer and Randian a Gen Y? If so:

Fuck the pair of you

love and kisses

Gen X

[db]

Represent!

[wareagle]

okay IFH, that's pretty funny. I'm on the cusp of boom and X. The boomers are the worst thing ever.

[Tim]

Of course about 10% of the population is unteachable

Do I detect a whiff of Romney like dismissiveness?

[ant1sthenes]

I imagine that's probably true. Well, obviously even the severely retarded can be taught things, but they aren't going to have more than a sympathy job.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

You know why public schools suck? Job seekers can't do basic math.

Gather a bunch of manufacturers like Mr. Cohn in a room, and it won't take them long to start complaining about their inability to find workers adequately skilled in "shop math," which can include trigonometry and calculus among other types of mathematics...

But they have to be able to pass -- using pencil and paper -- a 26-question math and reading quiz, with questions like this one: "Multiply 3.6 times 9.6."

Mr. O'Hearn estimated that 10 percent don't even try. An additional 30 percent can't pass the quiz, even with unlimited time. "I don't think there's anything difficult about it," he said. "But if they can't do this, we know they won't be successful on the job."

[RBS]

My grandfather used to complain about walking to school in the snow until one of my older cousins pointed out that he grew up in central Florida.

[invisible furry hand]

global warming!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I really doubt there is a scarcity of coders and software folks, article to the contrary...

Anecdote to the contrary, I stopped working a year and a half ago and I doubt two days go by without a coder or headhunter I've worked with trying to get me to take a job.

There are apparently limitless people who can reproduce the samples from books and online tutorials or answer stock interview questions, but very damned few who can actually solve problems.

[wareagle]

be careful...you are liable to irritate the pastor the youthful church of the offended.

[VG Zaytsev]

He's just pissed that he can't get any more Pinot until his next unemployment check comes next week.

[Fluffy]

I find myself unimpressed by the non-subscriber sample, since the first thing they mention is that applicants can't pass the drug test.

Good, I hope your business fails if that's the reason you can't hire "qualified" people. I hope your business fails, and you're on the street, and your son and daughter both end up turning tricks.

[Tim]

When I was in high school, "failing the drug test" meant you paid for an oregano joint.

[John]

Read the quoted parts. It is hard statistics about employers being unable to find people with basic English and math skills. That is a bit more important than passing a drug test.

[robc]

Maybe they could find enough people with basic English and Math skills, if they didnt exclude everyone who smoked pot.

[Fluffy]

Your quote doesn't say anything about English or math skills, and when I click through I get two paragraphs about drug testing and a request that I log in.

[John]

Employers also mention a lack of elementary command of the English language. A survey in April of human-resources professionals conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the AARP compared the skills gap between older workers who were nearing retirement and younger workers coming into the labor pool. More than half of the organizations surveyed reported that simple grammar and spelling were the top "basic" skills among older workers that are not readily present among younger workers.

Sorry forgot which part I quoted.

[Fluffy]

OK, this is definitely possible.

[Randian]

As reported by older people in the organization, I would wager.

[wareagle]

randian,
being offended by mention that some of your peers are not that sharp serves no purpose. While there is a generational component, there is also the practical one - why learn how to spell when Spellcheck does it for you. Except Spellcheck is not always right itself.

[Randian]

being offended by mention that some of your peers are not that sharp serves no purpose.

I am offended that this is yet-another installment of "Durr the Kids are So Dumb"

[wareagle]

I am offended that this is yet-another installment of "Durr the Kids are So Dumb"

stop being offended. When every dad is treated like a bumbling fool and every person over 50 is perceived as a technophobe, my knickers don't knot up. Generalities are what they are. Like I said earlier, EVERY generation whines about the one after it. Yours will, too.

[Randian]

Generalities are what they are. Like I said earlier, EVERY generation whines about the one after it. Yours will, too.

And it will be just as stupid then as it is now.

[VG Zaytsev]

As reported by older people in the organization, I would wager.

Yep, those old dumbfucks just don't understand the new Inglish spellin.

[Randian]

Or, alternatively, increasing irrelevance and alienation within an organization leads to an "us v. them" mentality among those who are doing the reporting.

[NoVAHockey]

Maybe it was here or somewhere else, but there was an article on shift away from teaching sentence structure, spelling, writing and associated skills in favor of basically assuming they'd pick it up as part of other course work.

The result has been disastrous and the kids are incapable of putting together complex thought and even using conjunctions.

[tarran]

During my stint as a college professor, I was stunned at how few (

[Whiterun Guard]

...people could complete a sentence?

[db]

...keystokes it takes to express a command of the English language?

[tarran]

Gnargh! Should have been:

During my stint as a college professor, I was stunned at how few(much less than 1%) of students could write a grammatical sentence.

Thi will teach me to post and run...

[John]

Tarran,

Was that the product of them being lazy or just lacking the skill? For example, I am a terrible speller on here, but that is because I never bother to use preview. But when I do things for work, I do it letter perfect because I never send off a first draft. I know very few people who can write letter perfect on a first draft. But nearly anyone can do it if you spend the time and effort proof reading.

[tarran]

They genuinely lacked the skill.

It really showed up when I told them that 15% of the lab report would be grading for grammar.

They definitely tried to clean up their writing. They couldn't pull it off. It was awful. The sad thing was that there was a fair portion that could think but lacked the ability to express those thoughts coherently - because their command of their native tongue was so poor.

[John]

Language is thinking Tarran. You can only think sophisticated thoughts if you have the language to express them. If you grow up not reading or reading Judy Bloom and JK Rowling, you will never develop the vocabulary to express sophisticated ideas or even understand them.

[tarran]

You can only think sophisticated thoughts if you have the language to express them.

I think you are largely right but don't agree that you must have the language to think in a sophisticated manner.

At the risk of getting all chicken and eggy, I expect that people invented grammar to express the thoughts they were having, and the sophisticated thinking preceded it.

However, the grammar facilitates it. Take some primitive tribe in Papua New Guinea speaking a language that is very rudimentary- maybe one guy in ten thousand would be able to come up with an idea like the broken window fallacy, whereas among native english speakers, the rate would probably be 100 times higher.

[db]

No, tha will teach you to post and run.

[Tim]

"Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?"

[Numeromancer]

Wouldn't that be loverly?

[Fluffy]

My other question is:

"If you know so much about interpersonal skills and motivation, how'd you end up in HR?"

[Tim]

Passed the drug test.

[T]

HR is in a race to the bottom with Corporate Communications for the dumbest collection of employed individuals. If you happen to find someone in an HR department worth a damn, treasure them like the unlikely jewels they are.

[NoVAHockey]

HR is where the annoying RAs from college end up.

[John]

The funny thing is that if you are half way competent, you can have a great career in HR because the competition is so bad.

[$park?]

As of right now, this has been the most comedic genius HyR comment section EVER!

[invisible furry hand]

Willie Nelson has a new memoir coming out in November called "Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die"

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/.....rylink=cpy

Bonus: why this might not be a good idea

[John]

I bet that will be a really good one. The Keith Richards bio was absolutely fantastic. I bet Willie's will be of similar quality. People who don't let the fame go to their heads and have a sense of self awareness about how absurd being a music star is, which describes both Richards and Nelson, tend to write good memoirs.

[Fluffy]

People who don't let the fame go to their heads and have a sense of self awareness about how absurd being a music star is

By this standard, Huey Lewis will have the greatest memoir of all.

[db]

Title: Still Beating.

[Randian]

I thought it would be I Wanna New Plug: Huey's Hair Tips

[John]

It might be. There is nothing that says you have to be talented to write a good memoir. Look at it this way, a lot of average or below average soldiers have written some great war memoirs. Nothing to say a lousy rock star might not write the best musical one.

[Fluffy]

It's actually an old joke in my household that Huey Lewis would have the best Behind the Music because they could call it Huey Lewis: Making Good Decisions.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

The Dirt, which is Motley Crue's "tell all " memoir is fucking fantastic. they had some awesome and some fucked up times.

Nikki Sixx is currently writing his memoir.

trivia: Kickstart my Heart was written about the time Nikki Sixx was brought back to life after a heroin overdose.

If you are going to do it, do it right - alcohol (lead singer killed somebody DUI unfortunately), heroin, groupies, groupies, groupies, hotel room vandalism, international incidents, and groupies

[Auric Demonocles]

Bigger travesty: Seattle's TD "catch" or AM links with no alt-text no days in a row?

[Randian]

The latter, to be sure.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'll need to do a 12 minute review.

[Kaptious Kristen]

They're going to tell (they're going to tell)
They're going to tell (they're going to tell)

[WigFow]

Sounds like a pretty solid plan to me man.

http://www.AnonNation.tk

[invisible furry hand]

Jeez anonbot, you were on a roll yesterday but with that post you've gone backwards

[sloopyinca]

Question: Is Mary Stack still obsessing over Reason?

Answer: Hell yeah!

[Randian]

AWWWWW YEAH new video!

*watches*

Awwww no that was disappointing.

[sloopyinca]

Not only did she not cite anybody, she didn't do anything original.

What a cunt! Wait, is that OK to say?

Aw, fuck it. What a cunt.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, that was pretty lazy.

I could make a better video by reading one day's worth of posts.

[sloopyinca]

I could do it from just this AM Links, which I'll prove in a few minutes.

[stand by]

[Mike M.]

How in the world did she manage to get that picture of Shrieking Idiot at the very end there?

[sloopyinca]

"Do libertarians respect women?"
Students revolt over First Wookie's 850 calorie school meals.
-sarcasmic

"What do libertarians think of a potentially huge international incident?"
At least he didn't say hot wet yellow seamen.
-Whiterun Guard

"Do libertarians care about equality?"
Real regimes don't have any gays under their rule.
-Fist Of Etiquitte

"Do libertarians care about human rights?"
What Holocaust?
-sloopyinca

"How do libertarians feel about foreign policy?"
Hey, I just order the wars. The logistics of it all are up to the guys on the ground.
mr simple

"Libertarians on education in America"
I forgot the valuable service of babysitting.
-John
And welfare delivery.
VG Zaytzev

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Needz moar city-STATE.

[db]

"How the UN Saved Somali Pirates from the Brink of Extinction"

[db]

Just as the PMPF had the pirates on the run, the United Arab Emirates -- under massive U.N. pressure -- shut off their funding for the only anti-piracy program that had a real chance of success. As of June 6, Somali's largest indigenous attempt to control its own security appeared to be dead. To put the nail in the coffin, the SEMG then leaked its 2012 report on July 15, which vociferously demanded sanctions against the South African contractors -- but did not recommend sanctions on the pirates they were hired to defeat.

When asked what their logic was for this conundrum, the SEMG response was "Pirate leaders cannot be sanctioned otherwise it would criminalize ransoms payments, (which) could have a negative impact on the release of crew members."

[Pip]

How about we have a perpetual sports thread, so I don't have to scroll through all of this bullshit?

[Mike M.]

Cowboys fans receive shock upon discovering that cowboys.com is now a gay dating site.

[Pip]

I am aware of that, but what does that have to do with all of the other sports shit on here?

[The Late P Brooks]

"If you know so much about interpersonal skills and motivation, how'd you end up in HR?"

Skwurlz ate your ampersand, didn't they?

[Dunphy (the real one)]

overhead squats - they do the ass GOOD

(15 reps of BW overhead squats is a great athletic feat. even moreso for a woman. nicole rocks)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjuULPqI-WY

[Emmerson Biggins]

You think those are any easier on the back? Just due to the fact that you basically have to use less weight and keep your core tight the whole time?